The Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is a standard for digital wireless communications with different services, such as voice telephony. The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) inside GSM phones was originally designed as a secure way to connect individual subscribers to the network but is nowadays becoming a standardized and secure application platform for GSM and next generation networks.
The Mobile Station (MS) is what the user ever sees from the whole system. The MS actually consists of two distinct entities. The actual hardware is the Mobile Equipment (ME), which consists of the physical equipment, such as the radio transceiver, display and digital signal processors. The subscriber information is stored in the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), implemented as a Smart Card.
With respect to the terminology used in this document, The Mobile Station (MS) includes the Mobile Equipment (ME) and the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). The terms “Handset” and “Terminal” are used as a synonym to the Mobile Equipment (ME) and the term “Mobile device” as a synonym to The Mobile Station (MS).
The mobile equipment is uniquely identified by the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) being a unique code that corresponds to a specific GSM handset while the SIM card, in turn, is identified by the Integrated Circuit Card Identity (ICCID) determining the serial number of the card, and contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), identifying the subscriber, a secret key for authentication, and other user information. The IMEI and the IMSI or MSISDN are independent and can thereby provide personal mobility.
The Mobile Station Integrated Service Digital Network Number, MSISDN, is the standard international telephone number used to identify a given subscriber. The operator declares the subscription in a database inside the network, which holds the correspondence between the IMSI and the MSISDN. By inserting the SIM card into another GSM terminal, the user is able to receive and make calls from that terminal, and receive other subscribed services.
Advanced mobile services such as browsing, multimedia messaging, mobile e-mail, and device management can only be used if a mobile phone is configured correctly. However, many customers do not know how to configure their device. Operators must ensure that device configuration is quick and easy for the customer. This process of managing device settings and applications is called device management.
A device management session includes e.g. authentication (user verification), device inventory (a device management application read which parameters and applications are installed in the telephone for future decisions, such as e.g. updating, adding and deleting things from the installations), continuous provisioning (a device management application e.g. updates parameters on the telephone device, sends applications to the device, performs software and firmware updates), device diagnostics (error finding), etc.
Sending new settings over the air is one simple way to provision a device with configuration parameters, such as connectivity information (device settings). After receiving the settings to configure the phone, the customer simply saves them to the phone and is then able to use the services. For the operator, simplifying access to advanced services can bring higher usage rates, new revenue streams, and reduced customer helpline costs.
However, a mobile device consists of two entities: the subscriber identity module (SIM) and the terminal. In a mobile device management environment both entities that make up the “device” are of interest. Both those entities are subject to mobile device management operations.
In a unified device management environment a “device” consists of two entities. For some devices it is the data objects residing in the terminal that are targeted and sometimes it is data objects residing on the SIM. This means that the format of the provisioning content is significantly different even if the parameters may be the same. It is a jungle to keep track of the details of how a particular mobile device needs to be managed.
It is also a problem that there might be different solutions for different mobile devices. One device might have Multimedia Message Service (MMS) settings on the SIM card and another device might have them in an OMA DM management Object (MO) in the terminal.
Furthermore, the fact that a mobile device consists of two independent units, the terminal and the SIM, introduces an additional level of complexity. The SIM card might support storing of MMS settings on the SIM card but then there has to be an application program in the terminal that supports reading the settings off the SIM card.
Therefore the capabilities of both the SIM and the terminal need to be analysed in combination in order to determine the applicable provisioning protocol and provisioning content format. To simply look at the capabilities of the terminal alone will not be enough.
For devices supporting OMA DM, data residing in the handset is represented by standardized Management Objects (MO) as specified by the OMA DM protocol. The protocol specifies how the MOs may be managed (i.e. read, updated, deleted . . . ) by a remote server side component. There are just a few, three actually, MOs that are specified as mandatory. In addition to those mobile device vendors will implement more MOs according to their own needs and ideas.
There are also plenty of “legacy” devices that have data stored in the handset in a non-specified proprietary way and in such cases there is sometimes a proprietary device management protocol available that is adhered to by one or more terminal manufacturers. The device management protocols used for communicating with terminal residing application programs and SIM residing application programs are essentially different. The application programs and their respective communication protocols have evolved one by one often on a proprietary basis. Some companies, have published their own specifications of protocol and format for provisioning their mobile devices with e.g. connectivity parameters over-the-air (OTA). Such proprietary “legacy” OTA provisioning protocol are still being used.
There are multiple data objects specified for storing the same data. Multiple standards and specifications exist for how to maintain connectivity parameters in a mobile device, e.g. on the SIM card, in an MO in the OMA DM user agent, as an XML document or proprietary somewhere in the phone.
However, it seems like more generic standards for mobile device management are emerging, i.e. OMA DM protocol. Never the less there are and will be plenty of old (“legacy”) devices out there on the network. The OMA DEM protocol is still far from mature, deployed, ready-to-go or interoperable.
OMA Device Management Protocol (OMA DM) is a standard for communication between mobile devices and device management server systems. The standardization body is OMA, Open Mobile Alliance. The mobile device to be managed is equipped with an OMA DM user agent in the device (i.e. terminal or handset) that speaks the OMA DM language.
Device management applications using OMA DM are typically used by mobile service providers. They are used for customer care purposes and to increase revenue by effective value added service management. Example use-cases involve service- and settings provisioning, device diagnostics, statistics, firmware- and software upgrade.
In this document, a system that is able to manage both the handset and the SIM card is referred to as a Unified Device Management system (UDM). In the scope of UDM, both the SIM residing and the terminal residing data and application programs are of interest and must be managed.
In this document, the term SIM file management (SFM) is used for device management operations towards SIM cards. Data residing on the SIM are represented by a SIM file structure where a file is indicated by a file path. How the data in the SIM files should be encoded is specified to the transport level as well as to the application level. There are several standards around, both from 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). The original scope of 3GPP was to produce globally applicable Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for a 3rd Generation Mobile System based on evolved GSM core networks and the radio access technologies that they support and was subsequently amended to include the maintenance and development of the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) Technical Specifications and Technical Reports including evolved radio access technologies.
To keep track of what SIM card and terminal that has what files and what data management objects, capabilities are used. For example a terminal may be capable of using the OMA DM device management protocol by an OMA DM user agent supporting OMA DM version 1.2, by an OMA DM user agent supporting a number of optional OMA DM functions or it might be capable of accepting unprompted notification messages of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) type. MIME extends the format of Internet.
By keeping track of such capabilities, adaptive processes may be implemented, that automatically selects and imposes the applicable device management protocols and formats. Of course, the foundation of it all is that the system is aware of the mobile device identity and has repositories storing capabilities for both SIM cards and terminals.
Throughout this document, and also in standards, the term “provisioning content” (PC) is frequently used. Provisioning content is the content being provisioned. Content is like pay-load. In the use-case “provisioning of device settings” the provisioning content is the set of connectivity parameters. But this is just one use-case. The content in other use-cases may be e.g. software of some sort, a game, a picture or a firmware update package.
Whatever the content is it always has a dedicated format. The same provisioning PC may be provisioned to various different devices over various different protocols and packaged in various different formats.
The capabilities of the mobile device reveal what features, provisioning protocols and provisioning content formats it is capable of understanding.
This means that, in the present situation, “bridging features”, “adaptive processes”, “automatic conversion features” and “data management tools” are or would be extremely useful in order to enable seamless migration and easy-to-use future proof mobile device management systems. There will be a lot of “legacy” devices out there for quite some time yet. Meanwhile, screening out devices based on their capabilities is of essential importance.
Capabilities aware processes, meaning the terminal capabilities as well as SIM card capabilities. Capabilities refer to both “hard” capabilities such as mobile transport capabilities and more “soft” capabilities such as the presence of certain application programs on the terminal or SIM. Capabilities repositories enable screening out of devices with certain desired capabilities.
Unifying management of SIM card and terminal, seamless migration back and forth, uniform interfaces for UDM applications including automated protocol conversion
Bridging features, enabling uniform use-case based system that operates smoothly even as SIM cards and terminals evolve over time, causing a ruthless demand for yet new device management protocols and data formats again and again. Bridging features ensures seamless migration from one protocol to the next. In addition, bridging features ensures seamless management of all generation of devices existing at the same time in one and the same mobile device management system.
Thus, the correct format for a provisioning content is determined by a complex combination of capabilities: the OTA protocol, even the OTA protocol version, the terminal vendor, terminal model, the subscription type and the SIM card type. It is very complex to know by which provisioning content format a mobile device may be provisioned.
US patent application 2005055453 is presented as prior art. This patent is held by Microsoft and covers a specific conversion, from WAP client provisioning XML representation into OMA DM tree structure representation. The method in this patent does not include the use of capabilities to determine what conversion that is applicable. It is a straight forward computerized conversion where data objects of one format are mapped onto data objects of another. In addition the patent is limited to conversion between to specific formats.
Continuously, new mobile devices are introduced to the fleet and demanding new provisioning content formats over and over again. It is therefore not very future proof to configure the system with a few existing provisioning content formats.
The object of the invention is to develop methods and systems facilitating formatting of provisioning content destined for mobile devices of different capabilities and installations using different standards and protocols.
The method of the invention is intended for provisioning content formatting in a device management system in order to facilitate provisioning of mobile devices of different capabilities with contents in a device management system in a mobile network infrastructure. The system comprising a device management application and repositories, and the method is mainly characterized by steps in which the device management application in the device management system is initiated to perform provisioning content formatting, and the device management application determines the applicable format for a mobile device to be provisioned on an analysis based on combining the capabilities of the mobile device identified by means of one or more of the repositories.
The system of the invention structure comprises one or more device capabilities repositories and a device management application used for the determination of correct provisioning content format based on the capabilities of the mobile device and device capabilities repositories.
The invention covers an adaptive process for converting between different provisioning content formats and provides possibilities for automated capability based automatic conversion of provisioning content from a generic format into one of multiple other formats.
In the invention, the conversion is automatic, meaning that the determination of format to convert to is done based on the capabilities of the mobile device in question. A major part of the method of the invention is to determine which provisioning content format that is applicable for a particular mobile device when a particular mobile device management use-case is executed. Especially, the invention emphasizes the combination of SIM card capabilities and terminal capabilities during the analysis process in which the applicable provisioning content format is determined.
The method implements an automatic process to determine which provisioning content format that is applicable by the use of a terminal capabilities repository and a SIM card capabilities repository.
In the invention, repositories for terminal capabilities and SIM card capabilities are used for the process of determining the provisioning content format. Capabilities repositories are essential for managing the provisioning. For example: in some mobile device model it is the provisioning content resides in terminal media and in some other it resides on-SIM. It is the same old connectivity parameters, but the provisioning protocols and content formats are significantly different depending on where and how it is stored in the mobile device
The invention covers conversion into formats applicable for both SIM residing data objects and terminal residing data objects. The formats may be any, both standardised formats as well as proprietary formats. Nowadays most mobile devices support some kind of Over-The Air (OTA) provisioning. There are OTA provisioning protocols for terminal residing data and SIM residing data.
For terminal residing data objects, there are s.c. a) “Legacy” protocols that are based on short messages (SMS) to carry the provisioning content using to a dedicated data format of the application data unit. The legacy protocols use several vendor specific (proprietary) formats to carry the provisioning content, b) an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Client Provisioning specification that uses an XML document to carry the provisioning content. The dedicated OMA specification that specifies the provisioning content markup, c) an OMA DM Bootstrap specification that uses an XML document to carry the provisioning content. This markup is different from the OMA CP markup, i.e. have a different format.
For SIM residing data objects, there is the Remote File Management (RFM) protocol, which is the OTA provisioning protocol carried over SMS. Part of determining the provisioning content “format” is the process to determine the identity of the files (EF) to which the provisioning content shall be written. Part is to determine how the provisioning content itself should be encoded. Part is also to determine by the SIM card type whether there is any particular flavour of RFM protocol to be used. In the SIM case, protocol and format is therefore tightly connected
In order to implement the determination process, by which the correct provisioning content format is selected there is a need for terminal- and SIM card type specific capabilities repositories as described in the previous chapter.
The method and system implements:
A generic provisioning content format on which the provisioning content is administratively managed in the system
Device management repositories facilitating the possibility to determine the correct provisioning content format based on the capabilities of the terminal and the SIM card constituting the mobile device:
A terminal capabilities repository (TCR) storing information about what application services, technologies and so on that a terminal is capable of. The TCR also stores information about what OTA provisioning protocols a terminal may be provisioned over and specific information about provisioning content format particulars when so needed.
A SIM card capabilities repository (SCR) storing information about the management objects (files) available on the SIM card and whether or not these file may be managed from remote.
A subscription- and SIM card relationship repository storing information about the capabilities of the SIM card for a particular subscription. Thereby this repository provides the means to match a subscription with a SIM card type.
A device identities repository (DIR) storing the mobile device identities as identified by a terminal identity and a subscription identity [IMEI, MSISDN].
An automatic conversion process that executes the formatting, from the generic format into either of a number of several optional provisioning content formats
Once the applicable format has been determined the method automatically implements the actual conversion from a generic provisioning content format into the other in the particular case applicable format. Thus, the process is based on the use of a generic Provisioning Content (PC) format on which all content is stored in the system. The adaptive process is then employed to convert from the generic PC format in to the applicable PC format based in the capabilities of the mobile device targeted.
The Capability based automatic provisioning content formatter has been invented to solve the problems of the vast number of different provisioning content formats required in a mobile device management system. There is a need for many different formats because there are so many different mobile devices around.
Which protocol and format that is applicable will depend on a complex combination of all of the device capabilities. For example, for one mobile device settings for MMS might be residing in a SIM file and settings for OMA DM in an MO in the terminal. While for another terminal both kind of settings are stored in MOs in the terminal. Considering this complex nature of mobile device management it becomes apparent that adaptive processes are absolutely necessary and that a “One size fits all” is definitely not possible. The invention covers conversion into formats applicable for both SIM residing data objects and terminal residing data objects. The formats may be any, both standardised formats as well as proprietary formats.
Conversion in run-time is one option, to systematically build and format PC into retrievable “packages” indexed by capabilities is another. It is, however, not significant to the invention what method is implemented.
The invented adaptive process is referred to as Capabilities based automatic PC formatter, abbreviated CPC formatter. The invented CPC formatter makes sure that a mobile device management system, on user level, can implement a simple and generic management of the provisioning content (e.g. connectivity parameters). The system user need not be concerned with all the different formats, just the content itself. The selection of appropriate format and the actual formatting is handled transparently by the CPC formatter.
The following characteristics of the invention are presented to have a special relevance:                It is based on a capabilities aware mobile device management process        The significant characteristic here is that the system is aware of both SIM card capabilities AND terminal capabilities.        There is a terminal capabilities repository and a SIM card capabilities repository. The combination of the two forms a characteristic benefit and unique value of the invention.        The invention provides seamless integration of SIM card management and terminal management        By seamless is meant that even though sometimes a provisioning content is bound for the SIM and sometimes for the terminal, conversion into appropriate format is handled automatically.        The simplified administration of the data parameters of the provisioning content is a unique value of the invention. The user need not be concerned with the format that will actually be used in the end when a terminal or SIM is being provisioned. The user need only administer the correct values on the data parameters are entered into the system. It is future proof. New formats can be added without re-entering the data parameter values.        
In the following the invention will be described by means of some typical examples by referring to figures. The intention is not to restrict the invention to these examples because they are presented to illustrate the invention only.